


we were doomed from the start

by roguejedi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Don’t copy to another site, M/M, Mild descriptions of violence, Sportsfest 2019, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 07:44:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19421557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roguejedi/pseuds/roguejedi
Summary: They’re fifteen and slow dancing in the throne room in the dead of night because the Prince was feeling restless at the thought of the ball tomorrow. Hajime knows well that Tooru has been ballroom dancing almost as long as he has been walking, but he humors him regardless with his two left feet. It’s worth the low laugh that lights up the large room better than the moonlight streaming in through the floor to ceiling windows.Or, Oikawa is the heir to the throne and Iwaizumi is his knight and closest friend.





	we were doomed from the start

**Author's Note:**

> heed the archive warnings. thank you noor for beta'ing.

When they meet, they’re both nine years old. Tooru’s standing with his clothes pristine as always and his never faltering grin. With grace that a child his age should never have, he takes off his crimson gloves and slips them into his pockets.

A hand is extended to the boy sitting on the muddy ground of the forest, and with some hesitation, he takes it and allows himself to be pulled to unsteady feet.

“You shouldn’t be out here by yourself, you know. Especially not with the demons that roam these woods,” he says, watching Hajime pick a roly poly off of his sleeve. “I don’t think you want to turn into one of them. They’re nasty creatures.”

Carefully, Hajime sets the bug on a branch of the tree next to him. “You’re here by yourself too, aren’t you?”

“I’ve a feeling that you’re alone in a different way. Your parents?”

“... Remember those demons you were talking about?” Hajime frowns and Tooru doesn’t have a good response to that. Instead, they exchange names and Tooru practically begs him to not stay stranded in what’s more or less the middle of nowhere.

Hajime later finds it strange that despite Tooru having to look down at him in that moment, the Prince never thinks of him as inferior. He has every right to, considering that he is from the royal family and Hajime is just a boy made of dirt and dust and grime.

At eleven, Tooru sees Hajime training to become a knight. The training isn’t easy by any means, but Hajime never complains.

Tooru’s parents hurry him along past the training grounds, but he manages to catch Hajime looking back at him smiling. He waves when the King and Queen have diverted their gazes. Hajime just turns around and clashes his wooden sword with a fellow trainee’s.

It’s not that his parents were upset that he’d brought home a friend during that evening’s demon hunt. It was just that they weren’t expecting him to stay for so long. One year turned into two and there was no separating the boys. The Queen wasn’t very bothered by Hajime’s presence anyway, he was sweet enough and stayed out of the way for the most part. Besides, he would make a great addition to their defense against the vicious demons that lurked at night.

In their thirteenth year, they are even more inseparable. Despite Tooru’s duties as the heir increasing and Hajime’s training becoming more intensive, they always make time for each other. 

They stay up late into the night to sneak out onto the turret to stand shoulder to shoulder. Hajime whispers names of constellations into Tooru’s ear and Tooru knows that each is completely made up, but the day he’ll give up _Jade Pillbug_ is the day the demons will raid their castle.

A voice is heard, his mother’s presumably, and Tooru grabs onto Hajime’s wrist to tug him back downstairs. It’s the quiet laughter from Hajime as they’re trying to sneak back into their respective rooms without being caught that brings to life a butterfly in Tooru’s stomach.

They’re fifteen and slow dancing in the throne room in the dead of night because the Prince was feeling restless at the thought of the ball tomorrow. Hajime knows well that Tooru has been ballroom dancing almost as long as he has been walking, but he humors him regardless with his two left feet. 

It’s worth the low laugh that lights up the large room better than the moonlight streaming in through the floor to ceiling windows.

Hajime’s hand is clammy in Tooru’s, but he doesn’t say anything.

He doesn’t say anything when Hajime keeps stepping on his bare feet, mumbling apologies under his breath.

He doesn’t say anything when the world feels like it’s spinning in slow motion while he dips Hajime. 

He doesn’t say anything but years later, he wishes he did.

The actual dance goes as well as expected. Hajime shows up for a few minutes but doesn’t stay long. By now, the royal family insists that he’s just as much a part of the family as Tooru is, but he still feels like an outcast. 

Tooru excuses himself from the duchess that he had been entertaining to join Hajime near the wall. They do not talk much, but it’s comforting to Hajime nonetheless. Before he leaves to rejoin the festivities, Tooru gently touches Hajime’s right wrist. _I’m here for you_ , it says.

Hajime’s left staring at his back and thinking, _how long will that last_?

At sixteen, Hajime is officially knighted. He receives a blade to call his own, a black steel that glints menacingly in the moonlight that he’s bathed in while he stands across from Tooru. It’s made especially to harm demons, though if needed, it can be used against a human.

There’s tears welling up in Hajime’s eyes, because he never thought he’d make it this far. He was certain that he would die in that abysmal forest, that the demons he has now sworn to kill would get him first. 

But then Tooru happened. 

He sheathes the sword and wordlessly pulls his friend in for a hug. The Prince startles but he returns it, ignoring the wet patch that’s growing on the expensive cloth that he wore. Hajime sniffles and pulls away, standing much too close to him. 

“Let’s go back inside,” Hajime says beginning the short walk towards one of the many side doors of the castle. 

Tooru follows in his steps, noting how much more confident Hajime looked with the weight of the sword on his waist.

“You walk so slow.” There’s a lack of complaint in Hajime’s voice.

Tooru catches up to him and casually places a hand on his shoulder. “That’s no way to talk to the future King.”

Hajime hits his arm lightly, shoving his hand off. “I’m sorry _Your Highness_.” 

A moment of silence passes before they both break it with laughter. Oikawa has his head tilted back to the stars.

“Hey, look,” he calls Hajime’s attention to the skies. “ _Jade Pillbug_.”

Hajime responds with a roll of his eyes. “I can’t believe you still remember that.” He shakes his head, a smile lingering on his face as he enters the castle.

Tooru has been eighteen for only a few weeks when his father comes back from a hunt in a casket. 

He doesn’t mourn like his mother does, loudly and uncontrolled. He doesn’t even shed a tear at the funeral. He avoids concerned questioning from the castle staff. The only person he lets into his room is Hajime, who had long since been stationed to protect him.

Still, he doesn’t talk. They lay next on the bed, arms flush against each other. Tooru doesn’t remember when Hajime had taken his hand in his, but he’s glad he did. He’s sure that Hajime can feel the tremors that course through his body. The only response he gets from him is soothing circles rubbed onto his knuckles. He’s thankful that Hajime doesn’t say anything. 

Tooru finally breaks into tears somewhere between late night and early morning. Hajime is still awake and offers the comfort of his arms. They sleep the next day away like that, and Hajime swears that he’ll never let Tooru cry like this ever again.

His mother dies a year later. The doctor says it’s broken heart syndrome. Tooru knows better. He saw the blackened marks on her skin, the telltale sign of a demon.

Hajime is the only one that believes him, but both of them know that there’s nothing to be done now but to fortify their defenses and crown the new king. 

The coronation is rushed and goes about as well as expected, which is to say not well at all. Tooru leaves the room almost immediately after the crown is placed on his head. Hajime is quick to follow after him. He is barely able to convince him to come back to the room where the ceremony was being held.

That night, they don’t sleep. They’re laying beside each other again, the window open and curtains fluttering in the wind. Tooru only stares, defeated, at the ceiling above them. Hajime holds his hand in his, rubbing circles into his knuckles.

The moonlight pours over them and out of the blue Tooru asks, “Can I kiss you?”

Desperately, Hajime wants to say yes. What he says instead is, “You’re not in the right state of mind right now. You’re grieving.”

With that, the conversation closes.

Tooru falls asleep when the early morning light starts to seep in. Hajime shuts the windows and pulls the curtains closed. The little bit of light that escapes the slits of the curtains reveals a hand that looks like it is made of mist on the wall next to him.

Silently, he unsheathes his sword. It’s a low level demon, and with a few slashes of his weapon, it disappears without a trace.

He’s not winded from the action, but he’s still panting when he sits on the bed again. Maybe it was the reality of the world they live in sinking in. The fragility of life, the fleeting moments that he takes for granted.

It’s noon and he’s still sitting there, staring blankly in front of him with a white knuckled grip on the hilt of his sword. Tooru shifts, blinking his eyes open. He lazily reaches for the back of Hajime’s shirt, tugging at it.

“Come, rest some. I saw what happened,” Tooru says, voice thick with sleep. 

Hajime startles the slightest, but he lets the sword clatter to the floor at the same time that his heavy shoulders hit the mattress. 

They are twenty-two and Tooru has been King for three years, Iwaizumi a knight for six. As they grew, their feelings for each other have too. Still, neither really makes a move, instead settling for holding hands and sleeping in the same room. 

They decide to go out on a hunt, just the two of them. The sun set an hour ago, and Hajime was getting antsy. This was the first time that they didn’t bring any backup. It was dangerous; there was a reason why they were supposed to hunt in squadrons of five. The past few hunts yielded no prey, but there was something whispering among the trees tonight that put him on edge. Tooru had his bow and arrow set up in case something were to show up.

Hajime touches the back of Tooru’s hand, silently conveying the message: _let’s rest for a bit_.

And then everything turns on its head.

Tooru doesn’t say anything, but his eyes flicker from Hajime’s face and then behind him. Before Hajime is able to say anything, Tooru shoots several arrows in quick succession. 

Hajime turns, unsheathing his sword. _Finally_ , _things are gonna get interesting_. He decides against saying it out loud, though, not wanting to curse it.

Another demon appears in the opposite direction, and Tooru puts his back against Hajime’s, warding them off together. Tooru is quick to take down his demon, turning to help Hajime with the one he was having trouble with. 

It’s at least a level four on the six level scale and even with the two of them, it was difficult to fight. In his peripheral vision, Tooru sees curling black mist, a tell tale sign of another demon. Without hesitation, he shoves Hajime to the ground, making sure he’s out of harm's way.

He doesn’t expect to see a coils of smoke and mist coming out of his chest when he looks down. 

“Oh,” he says, falling to his knees and tipping forward when the limb slips out. He’s half on top of Hajime and he can taste blood in his mouth.

Hajime feels like he’s going to be sick, but he doesn’t have time for that. Instead, he gently gets himself out from under Tooru and gets onto his feet. At the moment, he doesn’t really value his own life, it’s just Tooru’s that he’s concerned about. Tooru is everything to the people of his kingdom. 

Tooru is everything to _him_.

He is the reason he could be here today, he thinks as he stabs through the offending demon. Hajime will not let Tooru die in this damned forest. With that thought in mind, he grips the hilt of his sword with both hands and stabs over and over, until his blade is going through nothing but air. 

The first demon he’d been fighting leers over Tooru and he doesn’t waste time in killing that one too. As soon as that one disappears, he falls ungracefully to his hands and knees and pulls Tooru onto his lap. 

“It’s fine,” Hajime’s voice is shaking, “I can still save you. The castle isn’t too far from here, it’s just a scratch, yeah? You’ll be okay.” It sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself more than the other. 

Tooru doesn’t believe his words, vision blurring. “There’s two of you.” Even in a moment such as this, he found it in himself to laugh. Blood seeps out through his thin armor at an alarming rate. He’s not scared of death. The fear left him when his father died. The only thing he really fears is leaving Hajime behind. He’s sure he can survive on his own, though.

Hajime can’t see through the tears that well up in his eyes, his grip on Tooru shaking. “Shh, don’t strain yourself, we’re going to go back now, alright?” He tries to lift Tooru up, but stops as soon as his face scrunches up in agony. Why him? It should be Hajime dying on the forest floor, dirt and dust and grime returning to the earth where it came from. 

‘It doesn’t hurt,” Tooru lies, voice barely a whisper. Through the treetops, he can see some stars twinkling in the sky. “Look, Hajime.” The first time that he hears his first name from his mouth, Hajime notes. “It’s the _Jade Pillbug_.” 

“Fuck _off_ ,” Hajime says, and it’s the most sincere thing to come out of his mouth since the whole thing started. 

“Can I ask for something?” 

“You just did,” Hajime’s at the end of his rope, panic increasing quickly. He wanted to get them out of here. He _needed_ to get them out. “But go on.” 

“Can I kiss you?” There’s something broken in his voice, and the tears in Hajime’s eyes finally spill over. 

Hajime leans down to place a kiss on bloody lips, barely even touching them. A first kiss shouldn’t feel like a goodbye. He wonders if he should have kissed him that night three years ago. 

When he pulls away, there’s a hint of a smile on Tooru’s face. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” he says. “I love you, Hajime.” 

Tooru’s eyes close for good before he hears Hajime say it back. 

‘No.” Denial. “Wake up. Wake up. No, you’re okay, please wake up. I love you.” Hajime’s voice catches in his throat and he holds Tooru impossibly closer, blood seeping onto his clothes. “I love you, I love you, I love you,” he repeats over and over through tears until _love_ is inseparable from _you_. It should be him. He holds Hajime close to his chest, rocking back and forth. 

Hajime is there for no longer than a few minutes before he sees the bushes in front of him bristle. Carefully, he props Tooru’s body up against a tree and stands, holding his sword in front of him. 

There’s more demons than the last time, but it doesn’t get him to retreat. He’d sworn to protect Tooru and failed. What is the use if he continued living without him? 

He doesn’t know for how long he’s been fighting, how many demons he’s banished, or how badly he’s been hurt. There’s no telling if the blood on him is his own or Tooru’s. At least the fire burning within him is his own. At least it is his choice that he will die here, defending who he loves. 

He keeps fighting until the sun rises and the demons retreat on their own. Somehow, he manages to find his way back to Tooru, collapsing next to his cooling body. 

Before he closes his eyes, he chokes out, “I’m sorry I failed you. I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/TSUKHUSHIMA)


End file.
